Lubricant purification system and apparatus



March 14, 1950 J. F. WERDER LUBRICANT PURIFICATION SYSTEM AND APPARATUS Filed June 28, 1944 OIL PUMP all,

Patented Mar. 14, 1950 LUBRICANT PURIFICATION SYSTEM AND APPARATUS John F. Werder, Chagrin Falls, Ohio; Frances Keller Werder, executrix of Werder, deceased, assignor to The Zip Abrasive said John F.

Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a. corporation of Ohio 3 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in pressure induced lubricant circulating systems and apparatus therefor.

It is an object of my invention to provide for purification of lubricant in a lubricant circulating system for mechanisms.

Another object of my invention is to provide for purification of lubricant for internal combustion engines.

Another object of my invention is to accomplish, by novel arrangement of apparatus, the precipitation of impurities of colloidal or other analogous nature from lubricating oil of a pressure-induced circulating system for liquid lubricants.

Another object of my invention is to achieve the foregoing objects bya novel arrangement of apparatus; the latter so constructed as to provide improved means therefor whereby an operator or attendant may visually determine the nature of the operation of the apparatus employed.

It is a further object of my invention to provide means for indicating the amount of oil or the level of oil in the crank case of an internal combustion motor.

Other objects of my invention and the invention itself will become'apparent from a perusal of the following description and the appended drawings, in which drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view of the oil purification and indicating system of my invention as applied to an automobile engine, portions being shown in side elevational, other portions being shown in vertical cross section;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 but showing another embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal medial sectional view of the aspirator of Figs. 1 and 2, and a check valve associated therewith; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to a fragment of Fig. 1 of another embodiment of my invention wherein the indicating function of the apparatus is omitted.

For clarity of disclosure, some of the parts illustrated in the foregoing drawings are purposely exaggerated in relative size from that size which ordinarily would, for practical reasons, be employed.

Referring now to the drawings, in all of which like parts are designated by like reference characters, the apparatus involved herein is shown as being applied to the lubricating system of an internal combustion engine of the type commonly employed for propelling motor vehicles, said lu- 1 i, 31 June 28, 1944, Serial No. 542,477

bricating system being of the circulatory type with liquid lubricant continuously pumped by'an oil pump through an intake conduit 24 leading from the crank case [0 of said engine.

Oil from said pump is in any customary manner supplied from said pump through a conduit system exemplified herein as the conduit 25 leading to the various bearings of the engine to be supplied with the lubricant.

To such a lubricating system, the apparatus of my invention is applied by the provision of a conduit 26 terminating at 21 in the crank case compartment preferably above the level of liquid lubricant contained therein, there being an intermediately disposed Venturi section comprising the Venturi unit I I having a lateral throat opening 29 which is in fluid communication with the conduit I2 through aball check valve casing 30..

The unit H with its Venturi passage and throat opening constitutes an aspirator when fluid flow under pressure is forced through the same from the pump to the'crank case. The effect of the form of the Venturi passage through the aspirator unit I l is, as is well known, to cause the fluid to achieve its maximum velocity at the throat of the Venturi relative to the velocity at the approach and discharge ends of the aspirator tube whereby at the point 29 in the region of the throat, a very considerable reduction in fluid pressure is efiected, and in the aspirator of my invention, such reduction of pressure is of such subatmospheric value as to approach that of a vacuum.

When a conduit such as the conduit I2 is placed in communication with such a point 29 maintained at subatmospheric pressure any fluid so disposed as to flow through the conduit l2 will be supplied through the conduit l2 to said Venturi throat in the. effort to increase the pressure at this point. Therefore, to carry out the purposes of my invention, the conduit .12 is connected through an opening [2 to the interior of a sight chamber H, to which lubricant from the crank case Ill may be supplied through another conduit M. A standpipe IS with spigot I 6 is so disposed within the interior ofthe chamber, and discharges lubricant received from the conduit l4, through the conduit l2 to the throat of the Venturi 0f the aspirator II, said lubricant being then, together with the oil received from theoil pump through the conduit 26, discharged through the discharge port 21 to'the crank case, said discharge port, in the preferred, embodiments illustrated in the drawings, being disposed above the level of liquid 'in', the, crank case, whereby,

the rate of discharge of such lubricantvfromthe casing ll through the spigot l6, conduit I2, aspiand descending by gravity to the bottom of the crank case.

, For this reason, I so dispose the intake end of the conduit M at such a level such as that shownat :z: where if thesupply-ofoil in the crank caseisrproperlyzreplenished from time to time, oil will be drawn through such conduit intake end and without drawing too much of the contaminated foreign substances at any time into the conduit M.

Again, should the operator of the engine neglect to replenishthe oil and the upper surface thereof. withinthecrankcase becomes lower than the; level r, the'operator will immediately be aprator II, and back to the crankcase through v the discharge port 21.

The chamber enclosing cover 1! is made-either entirely of transparentimaterial or at least has aatp'brtiom: ofzsits fronfiwallwfacingvthe spigot i I 5 made of? transparent material; whereby the operator viewingzthemspigot: I'fi through a'tlansparent portion ofstheuwalllzundera normal conditions of operation: ofiithe engine; will: see the oil passing fromztthei spigotzliia: asucl'noil will: descend. from thee-spigot. irrrdropsg: bysthe' effect. of gravity to theIflGOl'fOf tthel'cliamberr and will'then: be drawn into the conduit I 2 by'zthezeffectrof thegreater pressure: existing .withirn the casing' l1; over that which is efi'e'ctiveratrzthe: remote end of the conduit: I iiwhichxterminatesiat ithezaspirator venturi. .=.Therefbre, :the' operator wiewing :the drops .of oil?throughnthertransparentr casing wall ll of appropriate portion thereof-*mamrbythe iobserved frequency? of the: oil :drmssz-zbe able: to determine iii-thez system; iszoperatingiintthe .:;proper manner 'andlififnondue atocanydisorganizafioir from what.- soeverlcauset' ofjwth'el lubricating systemeither by cloggingi'ofathe cit distributing conduits or inoperativenessstofizthe; enginei'or: from whatever other cause .asmayrprevail; theoperator will thus receive notice thereofipriorz to. any' damage being d'oneto the -bearings. and should'investigate and remedytthe fault;

Aspreviously- 'stated aside from the advantages accruing? :through the indicator system Which. is "oneobject-iVe. of my' invention, other advantages accrue. The' chief 1 other advantage resides-in thediscovery'that such a system employing such= an aspiiator 'as i herein disclosed; or any other simian-y: operated substituted pressure reducing mechanism, whereby different fractions of the oil aresuccessively'subjectedto subatmospheric pressure, as is accomplishedin the region of the'throatofithe venturi is herein disclosed, is resultantly purified.

Although I do not i fully understand the modus operandi which causes such purification, I find that asystem organized'asherein illustrated and described, when applied to lubricating oil which hasbeen in use for such a length of time, or under 'such condition of use as to have become contaminated by the inclusion therein of the various substances-commonlyfound in any such lubricant;- continuously separates and deposits such foreign: substancesat thebottom of the crank case.

is In other words, the foreign substances subjected: to the above action are of a sufliciently colloidal or colloidal-like nature as. to permeate the: lubricant of the system, and after being subjectedzntor the: subatmospheric pressure effects present: inmy." improved:- system, rapidly becomes clarified, said substances settling out of? the .oil, 1

prised of such a condition by noting that no drops of oil are descending from the spigot I6. I,..find3f, ',lemploying the improvements hereof in connection with an automobile engine that continued operation maintains the oil in such an improved condition that the sameoil can be-used muchi-longer: than. would" otherwise be the. case, thereby-effecting a :very considerable economy to the purchaser ofwthevoil; and additionally; undue wear-of the bearings isavoided as arresult of the continued use of clarified oil during all of the timeathetengine. is:in: operation. Preferably, In install inc-the line" of the conduit 14-, at check:'vailve-icasingvm wherein a. valve ball 30' is yieldably pressed against a valveseat to closewthe :passage' between: the Venturithroat 29 and theconduit l 2,:to prevent flow of fluid in the direction from thevventuri tor-the casing l'l,- as for instance; when: starting a cold" engine: with the. :lubricantin a1 much congealed condition, whereupon otherwise when such thick congealed oil from :the:. pump: is :f'orced' through. the venturi theresistancei of i'the discharge pipe 2 7' 'whos e bore is: relatively:smallg'zwoulch createb ack pressure: to force lubricant:throu-glntheicqonduitx l2. to fill: the chamber 1'1..l,ThefCHECK NEIVGIFbaH. 30. prevents such reversed flow; thoughsreadily becomingrunseated to permit flow towards the Venturi throat. The ballcheckvalve 30. andiassociated parts are illustratedinthe eniargedl sectional view of Fig. 3.

.-Although unimportant,.it mayLbesaid that the chamber I! may, at times, be flooded or; partially floodedtwher-ra hot'zengine isstopped' andremains in'repose iil'liZcOld weathenfor; a considerable period" due: to theithermalr:contraction of the air within the casing ll iwhe'reby some oil under such 'conditionsxsomer.times. :will-rbe drawn upwardlyithrough the-:.'conduit 1l4'vinto' the casing; however, after "therengine: is started. and run for a'very short2time','the;..oi1=-will be iwithdrawn through the conduit [2, and the chamber I! will be? quickly cleared :ofttheoil previously drawn into itby'consideratiomofr air and will operate as. previously ."describ'ed.

In iFig. 2,;thesapparatus. is: shown in somewhat different'tsformy substantially; thei chamber. 22 withtspigot 2i is'zshowmmore in the .form of a fountainhe'ad" and 'operatesr-as does "the chamber I"! andispigotilfi", th lmainidifferencein th'etwo installations being, however, in the provisionzof the selectoriivalve'swhichy'upon being adjusted to two: alternative":positions:shown by solidand dotted lines-respectively; permit the conduitiZw (correspondingto con'duit l 4;.Fig. 1)' leading from the lubricant in the crank case IE) tobe' drawn through: either themore elevated intake pipe. It or as lowermost iintake ,pipe. 19. 5 A: check :valve such as provided at 30 ,2Fig; 1 willpreferably also be similarlyzprovidediinztheiconduit l2 of'Flg. 2. Inusin'grthe; apparatustemployin'g such selector valve and aip'air' or. intake-pipesz-as shown in'Fig. 2,

the operator will normally operate the selector valve to place the conduits I8 and 29 with the valve.

Should the oil supply be depleted from the level 11 down to a level 00, the operator by noting the discontinuance of oil dropping from the spigot 2! will know that the oil has been depleted below the level y, i. e., below the lowermost intake end of the valve and, then readjusting the valve to its alternative position where the conduit 19 is placed to communicate with the conduit 29, whereupon the dropping of oil from the indicator spigot will be resumed until the lubricant in the crank case falls below the level x and below the intake end of the conduit I9 whereupon the operator will receive another warning to replenish the depleted oil supply, by observing the discontinuance of dropping oil from the spigot.

From the foregoing, the alternative embodiment of Fig. 4 will be well understood, th parts, with the exception of the conduit I29, being the same as in Figs. 1 and 4, the indicating apparatus 13 to It inclusive being omitted. In this embodiment, the conduit I29 corresponding to the condu'lt 12 of Fig. 1 leads directly to the oil in the crank case.

The operation of the apparatus is the same as previously described with the exception that oil previously withdrawn by the conduit [4, and supplied through the indicating device and conduit I2 through the ball check valve 39 to the throat of the injector II, will now be directly supplied from the reservoir it through the conduit H20 to the approach side of the valve casing.

Having thus described my invention in different embodiments thereof, I am aware that numerous and extensive departures may be made from the embodiments which are herein presented and which convey an understanding of my invention and apparatus now preferred by me to achieve the purposes thereof, without departing from the spirit of my invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a circulating lubricating system comprising a pump for withdrawing liquid lubricant from a lubricant reservoir and for circulating the lubricant under pressure to bearings of a mechanism from whence said lubricant is returned to said reservoir, of a bypass conduit for returning a minor portion of the lubricant from the high pressure discharge side of said pump to said reservoir, an aspirator serially interposed in said conduit, said aspirator provided with a relatively restricted throat bore through which lubricant from said pump is forced at relatively high velocity while exerting relatively reduced pressure compared to the lower velocity and higher pressure of lubricant at the approach and discharge sides of said throat, conduit means having an inlet port disposed below the level of 6 fluid in the reservoir and an outlet port opening into said aspirator throat, whereby atmospheric pressure exerted upon the surface of the lubricant in the reservoir is effective to cause liquid to flow from said reservoir into said throat.

2. In combination with a high pressure circulating lubricating system employing a pump for withdrawing liquid lubricant from a lubricant reservoir and for circulating the same under pressure through bearings of a mechanism again to said reservoir, an aspirator device by-passing said bearings and discharging a minor quantity of liquid under pump pressure to the reservoir, and conduit means leading from below the surface of reservoir liquid to the throat of said aspirator for conducting an aspirator-induced minor flow of liquid from the reservoir to be returned directly thereto, a sight chamber interposed in the line of said aspirator-induced minor flow having upper and lower port openings, one of said port openings being disposed above the level of the other port opening and adapted to discharge lubricant from the reservoir into the interior of the chamber drop-by-drop, and the said lower port opening adapted to communicate lubricant deposited from the upper port from said chamber to the throat of said aspirator.

3. In combination with the crank case of an automobile engine, and an oil pump adapted when operated to circulate oil withdrawn from the crank case under pressure to the engine bearings, a by-passing conduit adapted to return a minor flow of the oil from the discharge side of said pump to the crank case, an aspirator having a minor flow conducting bore disposed in the line of flow of said by-passing conduit and said bore having a constricted throat portion whereby said minor flow achieves highest velocity and exerts a substantially high degree of subatmospheric pressure against the walls of said throat, a second conduit for conducting a second minor flow of lubricant from the crank case to the re ion of said aspirator passage disposed closely adjacent the discharge side of said aspirator orifice.

JOHN F. WERDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,484,607 Hunt Feb. 19, 1924 1,555,664 Hall Sept. 29, 1925 1,624,689 Sweetland Apr. 12, 1927 1,705,317 Stokes Mar. 12, 1929 1,874,976 Hans Aug. 20, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 393,934 France 1908 

